The missionary and the mermaid
by NarnianLady
Summary: A re-telling of the events of "On stranger tides" focused on the scenes between Philip and Syrena. I will add a few more scenes and dialogues between them that I feel should have been in the film
1. She has a name

**REVISED VERSION**

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**I watched **_**Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger tides **_**on the opening day. I enjoyed the film, and I fell in love with Philip and Syrena. They totally made the film for me. They are such an ambiguous couple because not much is revealed in the movie about them and there is such an open ending to their story. Still I adore them and I just had to write something about them.**

**It definitely contains spoilers, so in case you haven't seen the film yet, you might want to think twice before you read this.**

**For those of you waiting for my next chapter of **_**When you believe**_**, I'm sorry I interrupted that work to get this done, but seriously I HAD to write about Philip and Syrena!**

**Hope you like it!**

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**Chapter I**

**"She has a name"**

They young missionary still found it hard to take in everything he had experienced over the past few days. He had seen the rest of the missionaries being slaughtered by Blackbeard's crew. He had been tied up a mast for three entire days. He had been used as bait for mermaids and had survived the attack from the raging beauties. And thanks to him one of them had been captured and was a prisoner to the pirates, imprisoned inside a glass coffin.

He was half listening to what Jack Sparrow was telling him about saving his soul, as he looked back to see the trapped mermaid.

"...on the off chance that this does not go well for me" Sparrow's ramble continued "I would like you to note it–hearing now–that I am fully prepared to believe in whatever I must, and be welcomed into that place where all the _goody-goodies_ want to go once they pop their clogs. Savvy?"

"We have a word for that Jack. You can _convert_" he replied, quite serious, opposite to Sparrow's joking tone.

Sparrow seemed confused, but Philip decided not to pay much attention to it. Jack was a pirate after all, and what could a man who disobeyed laws, violated rules and roamed free in the sea possibly know about religion? About God? It was obvious his sudden interest about redeeming his soul was not sincere, but simple convenience due to his situation.

The missionary was finishing to wash his face as he turned around, distracted, but his eyes fixed on the glass coffin near him. The mermaid seemed to be breathing heavily and he quickly understood she was suffocating inside her crystal prison. He couldn't help but feel guilty for that, since it was his own doing that the mermaid had been captured and taken away from Whitecap Bay. He knew he had to do something.

"She's not breathing!" he exclaimed, standing up and approaching the coffin hastily.

"She's got water" the Quartermaster simply replied, obviously not caring one bit about what was going on. Maybe it was because the man was a zombie and was permanently indifferent to everything. But Philip somehow knew that even if he was a normal, unzombified man, he wouldn't have cared either.

"We have to open this!"

"I support the missionary's position" Sparrow said, again out of pure convenience.

"She will escape" the zombie answered with his monotone, dead voice.

"She needs air!" the missionary insisted.

Philip tried to open the lock but was unable to do so. The mermaid inside was dying and every second counted, he couldn't keep wasting time fighting the lock. He took the Quartermaster's blade to stick it in the rabbet between the cap and the rest of the coffin. With a twist of his arm, the lock cracked and the coffin opened just a bit, but enough for the mermaid to breathe in some air.

"You see" he said, filled with relief that the mermaid didn't asphyxiate.

The Quartermaster took his sword out but Philip quickly put his Bible to keep the coffin open just as the sword had done before. He got a growl and an angry look from the zombie, but for Christ, he wouldn't let him close that coffin again. They needed the mermaid, and the mermaid needed to be kept alive. Blackbeard seemed to understand that, because he ordered the Quartermaster and the rest of the crew to keep moving.

Philip sighed with relief, and then turned to his side, where he was faced by the mermaid, staring at him with inexpressive eyes and a blank look on her face. He didn't know what to make of that, but he liked to believe she was somehow thankful for what he had done. True, she was captive because of him, but Philip couldn't stand the way she was treated by the pirates, he had made it his _duty_ to protect her and treat her with the dignity every creation of God deserved. But it wasn't so much a duty; it was something he wanted to do, something he felt like doing. He too was a captive to the pirates so he might as well do something good while being with them, because he knew none of them would.

* * *

A sudden crack took him out of his thoughts in no time. He moved quickly to see what had happened and saw the glass coffin was shattered. The mermaid was lying on the ground, twisting and turning, her tail flapping. For a second Philip was sure she was going to die without her water, but it didn't happen. Her body coiled and her scales began to disappear, her tail parting in two parts, forming legs. The poor girl trembled, and embraced her knees, looking even more scared than before, even more vulnerable than she had looked in her coffin.

Philip couldn't believe no one moved an inch as her transformation happened. The mermaid had just turned into a human, and was sitting on the ground in front of the entire crew, naked, wet and shivering probably both from cold and fear. He didn't hesitate to take his shirt off and use it to cover her body. She gasped as she felt him near her and Philip embraced her both with the white fabric and his arms.

"You will walk"

Both the missionary and the mermaid looked up to Blackbeard as they heard his words, who was staring at them with a mixture of disgust and determination. It was obvious he couldn't understand why on Earth Philip was helping a mermaid, but was feeling pleased to see the mermaid now had legs and could move on her own. She would walk, as he commanded her.

Philip helped her stand up. Her movements were slow and shaky. He could feel she was having trouble finding her balance, but once she was on her feet, he let go of her. The girl stood for a moment and then hesitantly moved her foot forward to take a step and immediately fell to the ground.

"I can not" the girl whispered, ashamed and fearful. She was not used to walk, only swim, and she had an injury on her left foot where Philip's sword had pierced her fin back in Whitecap Bay.

"Walk or die" Blackbeard told her, a sour and derisory voice coming from him. He looked down to her as if he was looking at some inferior creature, not a human.

Philip's blood boiled inside his veins. How could he treat her so? He had an uncontrollable urge to defy him, to help her.

Her head hanged low, staring at the ground. She was being humiliated terribly by Blackbeard. A mermaid was supposed to be vicious, strong and dangerous, and all she was, was a fragile, useless girl waiting to be killed on the spot. She knew that man would end her life if she didn't walk. But no, she wouldn't die feeling humiliation, so she looked up and stared into Blackbeard's eyes, a defiant gaze finding its way to her eyes.

"Put your arms around me" a soft voice whispered next to her.

The missionary was knelling next to the mermaid, offering his help. But she didn't want that man's help. A mermaid never needed anyone's help, so why would she?

"I do not ask for help" she answered proudly.

"But you need it"

In that man's eyes she saw he genuinely wanted to help her. He was being protective of her, and truth be told, in the alien environment she found herself in, she needed that protection and that help. She blinked a few times, still hesitating whether she should trust that man, if she would allow him to assist her. She carefully slid her arm around Philip's neck and he embraced her body to carry her.

"We are in a hurry, yes?" the missionary spoke as he stood up, cupping the mermaid's body in his arms while he sternly looked at Blackbeard.

"Don't fall back, clergyman"

* * *

He had been carrying the mermaid for a while and not even once had she spoken to him. She only looked at him from time to time with a faint smile or something that sort of resembled one. Philip just figured those looks and those shadows of a smile were meant as some kind of thanking.

The crew stopped near a gigantic tree to check routes, so he placed the girl on one of the huge roots. She was staring at him, but again, no words were coming out of her.

Philip was amazed by her. As all mermaids, she was truly gorgeous. But there was something inhuman about her beauty. No woman he ever met looked like the frail girl in front of him.

"Such beauty" he began to say "Surely you are one of God's own creations, not a descendant of those dark creatures who found no refuge on the Arc"

He couldn't believe she was a cruel creature who lured men into their deaths and fed on their flesh. Such a vicious creature couldn't be a creation of the Lord, but beauty was made by Him. The missionary couldn't quite place what that girl was. A creation of God or a creation of the Devil.

"Such beauty…"he continued "Yet deadly" and walked away from her.

"Deadly? No!" the mermaid's words made him turn around. He stared at her in confusion. There was something in her voice, the way she denied to be deadly, that prayed him no to believe she was such a thing.

"You attacked me"

"No"

For a moment neither of them spoke and Philip thought she wouldn't go on, but she did. However what she said, he didn't expect to hear "You are different"

"Different?"

He wasn't quite sure what the mermaid meant, but then realized that she meant he was not like the rest of the men. On one hand they all had an interest in her, they wanted to gain something from her. And on the other, they all treated her like less than a human. But he didn't want anything from her nor treated her badly. He was in fact the only one who showed respect to her.

"You protect" the mermaid continued to speak "Just like I protected you"

Philip remembered she had tugged his leg to drag him towards the water. Obviously he thought she was trying to drown him, like the rest of her sisters had done with the other sailors who perished at their hands. Now he understood she just tried to move him out the way from the falling lighthouse. She was not trying to end his life, but save it.

"You pulled me out of the way..." he whispered as that realization came to him.

The girl nodded and smiled softly. She turned her head as Angelica began to shout orders to the crew, who was on the move again within seconds and their resting time was now over.

"Bring the creature!" Blackbeard shouted.

Something inside Philip snapped as he turned to face the pirate captain. He couldn't take it any longer, he hated the way he addressed the girl, the way he treated her, they way he stared at her as if she was some strange animal "She has a name!"

Blackbeard looked at him without any expression on his face "Then do tell"

Philip felt silent for a moment. He didn't know the mermaid's name. He looked into her eyes, trying to think how could that beautiful girl be named. And then a word popped into his head.

"She's Syrena"

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**I hope you enjoyed this!**

**Please leave a review :)**


	2. Tear

**REVISED VERSION**

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**First of all, thank you to all the readers of this story! I must say I was overwhelmed to see the response I got for this story. I had never had so many reviews or story alerts in such a short amount of time. I guess this means Philip and Syrena are receiving the love they deserve from us fans! And again, thank you :)**

**Secondly, ****I added a couple of scenes of my own imagination and it definitely contains spoilers, so in case you haven't seen the film yet, you might want to think twice before you read this.**

**For the **_**When you believe **_**followers, I'm working on the next chapter and it will be posted once I finish this story (It's going to be 4 or 5 chapters at the most). Maybe I'll post it sooner. ****Thank you for your patience :)**

**Hope you like it!**

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**Chapter II**

**"Tear"**

"Philip"

He raised his head and looked at Syrena.

"Thank you" she finished, in her usual quiet voice.

The missionary lowered his head again to continue the task at hand. He was bandaging with a strip of cloth the mermaid's left foot, the one he injured with a sword.

"Don't thank me" he spoke, not daring to look into her eyes, finishing to tie the fabric "It's the least I could do for wounding your foot… or fin"

Syrena smiled at his awkwardness and was pleased to see Philip's job was almost done. He had convinced her to bandage the injury to prevent some infection and she gave in to his request. The mermaid was beginning to trust that man sooner than she had expected, but he had definitely earned her trust.

She couldn't deny she hat hated him for a moment when they first met. She had saved his life back at Whitecap Bay and he had attacked her right after it. Such a common behavior from a human, after all. The pirates had taken her captive because of that man's fault. The mermaid had seen something in him worth saving and he had turned out to be just like all the rest. Until he proved her wrong. Amongst those pirates Philip was the only one who cared for her well-being, who showed kindness and compassion. There was no way she could continue to hate him after what he had done for her until then.

"All set" Philip smiled, as he tied a small knot to secure the cloth

"Move! We must not waste more time!" an angry Blackbeard shouted "Cleric, stop playing around with your fish and move! If we lose more time, by my daughter's soul, I will take your years when we reach the Fountain!"

Syrena's blissful mood was gone in a second. Those beautiful eyes of hers were now looking daggers at the captain of the crew. Philip's face mirrored her own and he cursed under his breath as he picked the girl up and cupped her in his arms as he had done before.

They followed the rest of the pirates as they crossed a narrow river which was not very deep, reaching barely Philip's thighs. The water was crystal clear and it flowed calmly around him.

The missionary's heart almost shattered as he saw Syrena's expression. She missed the water. She wanted to jump from his arms and flow with the river just as she did in the ocean. The longing was noticeable in her face, her body claimed to swim again, her legs wanted to become a tail once more.

The only thing she did was lower one hand and caress the surface of the water with the tip of her fingers as Philip continued to walk through the flowing water. For an instant her hand acquired small scales here and there, but as soon as he lifted her hand, they disappeared.

"You miss your home" Philip stated more than asked, as it was his intention.

"Everybody misses one's home when taken away from it" Syrena responded sadly.

"If I could help you escape without getting us both killed, I promise you that I would"

"I know"

* * *

During the nights Philip made sure Syrena was resting near him or at least within his sight. It was a dangerous environment the one she found herself in, being surrounded by pirates, wicked members of Blackbeard's crew. Her astounding beauty was for once not a trap to lure men towards her, but a trap for herself. He was well aware that underneath the icy glances the pirates gave her, thinking of her as an animal, or a creature as Blackbeard insisted on calling her, there was a hint of lust for her as well. Who wouldn't desire such a beautiful woman after all?

The missionary knew he wouldn't ever forgive himself if one of the men did anything to harm her. Syrena was trapped with them because of him; he wouldn't allow any more damage be done to her. That was the reason he was her constant guardian, during the day, but mostly during the night.

Philip was especially aware that Scrum kept his distance from her. Ever since the poor sailor had been enchanted by Tamara's looks and melodious voice, Scrum couldn't keep mermaids out of his head and he insisted on getting a kiss from one. Syrena was the only mermaid around so…

Every now and then, Philip would look to his right, where the girl laid on the ground a few meters away, sleeping peacefully to make sure she was alright. She seemed fine and that relieved him.

He took out his Bible and with the dim light of the fire the missionary began to read an excerpt of it. In times like those, where he felt alone and lost, like he didn't belong (because that was for sure, he did not belong with those pirates), he tried to find comfort in God, praying to Him or reading about His wonders in the world of men.

But truth be told, at that moment he found comfort only in Syrena. Somehow he could identify himself with her. Maybe it was that compassion and kindness she had showed to him. From all the men they were surrounded with, him and her seemed to be the only ones who were able to show some. Or maybe it was because he felt equal to her, since neither of them belonged there. They were strangers amongst ruthless men. Philip felt they were somehow bonded by that.

The missionary closed his Bible and laid it next to him. Again he turned to watch the mermaid and this time he noticed she was shivering. Slightly, but the trembling was still noticeable.

He stood up and walked towards her. It was almost impossible that she wouldn't be cold, the only thing she was wearing was his white shirt and it didn't even cover her legs. Philip wished he had something else to cover her with, but he knew his vest wouldn't suffice even if he used it to protect her from the night's chilly air.

If she slept near to the fire she would be warm enough. He had been sitting near it just moments ago and he found the temperature to be quite pleasant. Yes, she would sleep more comfortably there.

"Philip?" she whispered, still half asleep as the missionary was carrying her to take her near the fire.

"I noticed you were cold" her lips seemed to be slightly purple and her hands felt like ice "I'll just take you near the fire"

"No!" something immediately snapped in her. Her sleepiness was gone and she seemed terrified out of the sudden. "No, no fire"

He felt her body tense in his arms, she clutched his vest with her hands and the worried look on her face was enough to make Philip remember the way all the mermaids had swum away from the fire back at Whitecap Bay.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry" he whispered swiftly "I forgot, I'm sorry"

Syrena only nodded and he saw how she slowly began to relax again, but still she was shivering. He preferred to think it was still from the cold and not from the huge fright she had felt because of him.

"You're still cold?"

"Yes"

So the fire wasn't an option. What else could he do?

"But you are warm…" she whispered softly.

Philip put her down on the ground and he laid next to her. His arms went around her body, to embrace her, his own body heat was to help her warm up. She coiled up, and the missionary couldn't help but smile as she snuggled next to him.

* * *

Philip was shocked by the gloominess of the place they arrived. It was already night, it was cold and foggy, but what was horrible about that place were the various corpses of mermaids tied to tree roots next to some pools of water. There were nothing but bones, and the suffering they had endured was still present in that place.

He was carrying Syrena as they arrived there and out of instinct he held the girl closer to him, and his grip around her body tightened, trying to protect her. But his efforts were useless; the Quartermaster took the mermaid from his arms, and carried her to one of the pools, as other zombies restrained him from following her.

The lower part of her body changed into a fish's tail as it entered the water. The Quartermaster didn't let go of her yet. Those ponds were very deep as Blackbeard was saying and she could easily swim away.

"Your sisters were harvested for their tears" the captain spoke in an almost teasing tone as he looked around, watching the dead mermaids. His gaze, then, locked on the mermaid "Syrena, won't you cry?"

"All die, even you!" was her response. It was the first time Philip saw Syrena defying someone; she was being stronger, and less afraid than she usually was. No wonder the sight of her sister's corpses had affected her. He could sense a blend of anger and hate in her voice "Soon, I hear" she added, being her the one who teased Blackbeard this time.

"Listen…" Syrena turned her head from him as Blackbeard spoke. He moved quickly towards her and took her face violently with one hand "Listen! Can you not hear your sisters scream? Do you not hear them?"

She stared into his eyes, her own colder than even and her breathing becoming faster as she tried to keep her anger from escaping.

"We need but one tear" Blackbeard spoke as if trying to convince her. Her response was to hiss at him and her fangs were shown for the first time, making him let go of her face "Vile creature!"

"Chop off her fingers one by one!" the Quartermaster shouted.

"Take all the tears from behind her eyes!" a zombie, Gunner, yelled, craving to take out the mermaid's eyes himself.

Philip finally managed to free himself from his captors' hands and approached Angelica in desperation "Where's your voice in this?" he told her, expecting to see a little more of the mercy she had shown to him before.

"Maybe she'll have a change of heart when the sun rises" the woman spoke to her father, ignoring the clergyman's plead.

"Aye" Blackbeard reflected "She will burn but I cannot wait for the sun. Perhaps we should make a fire"

"No!" Philip immediately shouted. He had seen once Syrena's fear to fire and now they wanted to use it to burn her like the sun would have done if it had been up in the sky. He would not allow them to harm her in any way "You will not torture her!"

"Do not contest me, cleric"

"We need but one tear" Angelica told the young missionary as if it was not a big deal. As if saying that to him would convince him to make his poor Syrena cry one of her precious tears.

"I will tear every scale from her body one by one if I see fit" Blackbeard spoke, ignoring his daughter's intervention in the discussion "If that displeases you, go pray"

"I was wrong. Not every soul can be saved. Yours can not" Philip stated, looking sternly at the captain's eyes.

"Behold gentlemen! A man formerly of faith" he mocked him.

"That _vile creature_ as you call her is worth a hundred of you!" the missionary shouted. Right after he did it, he regretted it immediately. He had revealed with those words, with the passion he spoke them, something he was sure Blackbeard had noticed and was likely to use against him and Syrena.

"You care for her? You fancy her… "

Philip closed his eyes in defeat, for Blackbeard did noticed what he feared he would.

"Do not deny what is clear to my eyes. The question is, does she fancy you?"

Again he took Syrena's face with cruelty and examined her expression. The girl only lowered her eyes and faced him again as forcefully as she had done earlier. But she couldn't deny either what was written on her face.

"My Gods, she does! We are in luck!" the pirate exclaimed happily and then returned to his cruel self again, threatening the mermaid with his words "Give me one tear, or witness the death of this poor soul"

Some of Blackbeard's zombie-man took Philip from behind and forced him to kneel on the ground, placing a sharp dagger on his throat, preparing to slice it with an order.

"Syrena. If you could shed a tear, I would be grateful" the missionary spoke. He knew if he died, horrible things would be done to her. He had to be kept alive for her, to protect and guard her as best as he could. If they killed him she would probably follow after him and Philip couldn't bear the idea of Syrena being killed.

"No tears" Blackbeard said only to the mermaid's ears "… yet"

The zombie standing behind Philip, holding the dagger, placed it against his skin and was about slice it as Angelica intervened.

"Father!"

Blackbeard's daughter still held the belief her father's soul could be saved and redeemed. Killing a missionary was definitely not going to help him with that and his daughter was well aware of it. She took out her own dagger, willing to take the burden of killing a man of faith to save her father's soul. But he gave her no chance.

"Quartermaster!" the cruel pirate shouted and signaled the zombie to go straight to Philip's chest.

Syrena's face twisted in pain, as the missionary's body fell to the ground. Some tears began to form in her eyes for what they had done to her beloved Philip. But if she shed at least one tear, she was giving them exactly what they wanted from her. Her sad expression changed in a moment to one of utter hate towards the black bearded man.

"My, mermaids are tough" he said with a hint of surprise "All of them… Tie her with all the others!"

Some crew members took her arms and even though she struggled with them, they managed to tie her hands to the roots of a nearby tree.

"Get rid of him" Blackbeard ordered the Quartermaster as he saw Philip's inert body laying on the ground. Syrena did her best not to shed all the tears she had as Philip's body was being dragged away.

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**That's it :)**

**Please let me know what you think of this chapter, please.**


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